Amanda SHIN: Staycation is an all inclusive micro-unit housing tower that makes coming home feel like a vacation. Complete with bars, shopping, water parks, and sun-drenched outdoor lounges, it is a vertical complex that encourages recreation and relaxation.

From the small-scale intimacy of the micro-unit to the large-scale openness of the operable bubble, there are a range of environments for residents to seek refreshment in after working their nine-to-five jobs. The programs are organized concentrically, with an outer tower of housing and an inner tower of shopping, services, and recreation. The space between the outer and inner towers takes on an “urban street” identity, where the micro-unit inhabitant lives directly across from newsstands, laundromats, restaurants, and bars. Water slides inhabit the inner tower, giving the complex a type of vertical circulation that is purely recreational. Staycation is a programmatic opposition to a corporate headquarters.

sP: What or who influenced this project?
AS: Neil Denari, Carsten Höller, mai tais, Palm Springs, and proximity to the beach.

sP: What were you reading/listening to/watching while developing this project?
AS: Watching The West Wing, The O.C., and Cowboy Bebop.

sP: Whose work is currently on your radar?
AS: NMDA, Young + Ayata, and Greg Lynn FORM.